San Francisco Salvation Army Struggles To Fund Youth Programs

A donation is made into a Salvation Army kettle. (Tim Boyle/Getty Images)

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – A new survey of Salvation Army youth programs around the country that finds serious funding deficiencies for programs that target young people, and San Francisco is no exception.

“The average child is one to three grade levels below their peers across the country,” said Shelton Yee of the kids that they tutor at the Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center on Turk street in the heart of San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood.

Yee said that donations have been drying up ever since the recession hit in 2008, leaving him with the unenviable task of cutting this particular program some 20 percent in the last year alone.

Salvation Army spokeswoman Lanie Hendricks said that things are tough at centers all across the country.

KCBS’ Mark Seelig Reports:

“Eighty-one percent of our programs have witnessed an increase in demand for services since 2008,” said Hendricks.

More than half of the programs surveyed nationally are operating at, or beyond their capacity.

Yee said that he’s well aware of donation fatigue, but it always comes down to asking for help. He said that if you’re tapped out, he suggests volunteering your time – not just at the Salvation Army, but the program of your choosing.

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